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If you are convicted of a traffic violation in Arizona, then the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) through the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) assigns “points” onto your license. If you accumulate 8 or more points in a 12-month period, this can result in the MVD suspending your Arizona driver’s license for up to 12 months, depending on how many total points you have.
Having 8 points on your record does not automatically mean that the MVD will suspend your license.
For example, the first time you accumulate that many points, MVD requires you to attend Traffic Survival School (TSS) instead of suspending your license. But if you do not complete Traffic Survival School, or are ineligible for it because you have previously attended TSS in the previous 24-months, then MVD will suspend your license for 3-months. If you accumulate 13 or more points to your license, then suspension of your license for is mandatory.
In this blog post, we at Rosenstein Law Group discuss how the Arizona license points system works, including how the ADOT assigns point values to common violations, and how the number of points you accumulate can affect the kind of potential consequences the MVD may impose (including license suspension), and actions you can take when you receive a suspension notice on your license.
Rosenstein Law Group represents clients in criminal, DUI, and traffic offense matters, including points-based license suspensions. If you are facing an MVD points system-based license suspension, Rosenstein Law Group can give you legal advice on what options are available to you, if any. Some of the specific actions we can assist you with include:
To learn more about our legal services and how we can help you to contest a license suspension based on Arizona’s points system, call Rosenstein Law Group at (480) 248-7666 to speak with a member of our legal team and to schedule a free legal consultation. You can also set up a free consultation with us by contacting us online.
Each time you are convicted of, or forfeit bail for, a moving traffic violation, points are assessed against your driving record. When multiple violations arise from the same traffic stop or event, the points to be assessed are determined by the highest violation point value from that stop or event.
The purpose of the point system is to serve as an administrative tool for the MVD to identify repeated or serious traffic violations of Arizona traffic laws. Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) Section 28-3306(A) authorizes ADOT to suspend or revoke a license, or require Traffic Survival School, when a licensee:
Arizona’s official point schedule assigns higher point values to more serious violations, ranging from as few as 2 points for an offense that might result in a traffic ticket up to 8 points for drunk driving, reckless driving, racing, or aggressive driving.
Arizona Administrative Code (AAC) R17-4-404 provides the detailed MVD framework for point-based TSS orders and suspensions. Table 1 of AAC R17-4-404 establishes the point values that ADOT assigns to violations.
| Violation | Points Assessed |
|---|---|
| A.R.S. § 28-1381, driving or actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence. | 8 |
| A.R.S. § 28-1382, driving or actual physical control of a vehicle while under the extreme influence of intoxicating liquor. | 8 |
| A.R.S. § 28-1383, aggravated driving or actual physical control while under the influence. | 8 |
| A.R.S. § 28-693, reckless driving. | 8 |
| A.R.S. § 28-708, racing on highways. | 8 |
| A.R.S. § 28-695, aggressive driving. | 8 |
| A.R.S. §§ 28-662, 28-663, 28-664, or 28-665, relating to a driver’s duties after an accident. | 6 |
| A.R.S. § 28-672(A), failure to comply with a red traffic-control signal, failure to yield the right of way when turning left at an intersection, failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, failure to exercise due care, failure to stop for a school bus stop signal, or failure to comply with a stop sign, and the failure results in an accident causing death to another person. | 6 |
| A.R.S. § 28-672(A), failure to comply with a red traffic-control signal, failure to yield the right of way when turning left at an intersection, failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, failure to exercise due care, failure to stop for a school bus stop signal, or failure to comply with a stop sign, and the failure results in an accident causing serious physical injury to another person. | 4 |
| A.R.S. § 28-701, reasonable and prudent speed (speeding ticket). | 3 |
| A.R.S. § 28-644(A)(2), driving over, across, or parking in any part of a gore area. | 3 |
| Any other traffic regulation that governs a vehicle moving under its own power. | 2 |
When ADOT considers a points-based suspension of your driver’s license, the key threshold is 8 or more points within a 12-month period. AAC R17-4-404 (E) establishes the following escalating range of suspension periods:
So, the simplest answer to when you become subject to a points-based suspension of your license is 8 points in 12 months. But the actual duration of the suspension depends on the number of points, whether you are eligible for Traffic Survival School, whether you completed Traffic Survival School in the past 24 months, and what the MVD notice says.
Traffic Survival School is an MVD-licensed driver safety program. Traffic Survival Schools are separate from Defensive Driving School courses, which are administered through the Arizona Supreme Court. This distinction is important:
The MVD can require you to attend Traffic Survival School when you accumulate 8 or more points in any 12-month period. It can also be required automatically for certain violations, regardless of total points, including:
For points-based cases, Arizona Administrative Code R17-4-404 states that MVD or its contractor will send you a dated Traffic Survival School order after you have built up 8 to 12 points in 12 months and you have not completed Traffic Survival School in the previous 24 months.
The order must instruct you to submit any hearing request within 15 days after the date of the order and warn you that failure to complete Traffic Survival School within 60 days after the date of assignment will result in a six-month suspension.
Failing to complete Traffic Survival School when you are ordered to do so results in automatic license suspension. Licensed schools electronically transmit proof of completion to the ADOT, and it will also record completion if you present an original certificate within 30 days of issuance.
Many Arizona drivers assume points reset on January 1 of each year, but that is not how the MVD rules work. Instead, Arizona’s administrative rules define a 12-month period as a “rolling period” measured from the date of your most recent violation with assigned points for which there is a conviction or judgment back to the same day and month one year earlier.
The rules similarly define a 36-month period by measuring back three years from the date of your most recent point-assigned violation that resulted in a conviction or judgment.
Points are assessed against your permanent driving record. For MVD suspension analysis, however, the relevant question is usually whether you have accumulated enough points within the applicable 12-month or 36-month window.
Before responding to a points notice, it is often helpful to obtain your motor vehicle record to check its account of your driving history. This is a printout you can obtain at AZMVDNow.gov. You can also request your record by completing the Motor Vehicle Record Request form and paying $3 for an uncertified three-year driving record or $5 for a certified five-year driving record. You can do this by mail, at an MVD office, or through an authorized third-party office.
AZ MVD Now also lists “Driver License Record,” “Motor Vehicle Record,” and “Manage Compliance Issues” among its online services, and its “Got a Letter from MVD?” section states that you can sign in to view compliance tools such as a report on how to get your driving privileges back, a timeline of important dates, and copies of letters MVD has sent to you.
If you are facing a suspension notice, compare the notice against your motor vehicle record. Look for the violation dates, conviction or judgment dates, point totals, and whether any listed conviction is inaccurate or belongs to someone else.
Arizona law allows the ADOT to provide you with written, electronic, or digital notice of a suspension or required training. Notice may be sent by mail or electronically to your address. Under ARS 28-3318, service of the notice is complete on mailing.
Here are the steps to take when you receive the notice:
If you are facing the prospect of having your Arizona driver’s license suspended because of accumulated points, you do not have to contest it on your own. The attorneys at Rosenstein Law Group have many years of experience helping our clients with many kinds of administrative matters, including points-based license suspensions and Traffic Survival School attendance requirements.
The ADOT’s hearing materials specifically state that your attorney should submit a hearing request on your behalf in motion form, and the Executive Hearing Office forms page explains that hearing requests should include identifying details for the client and the specific MVD action being challenged. A Rosenstein Law Group defense attorney can handle these details for you, review your driver’s record, and look for any possible weakness in the MVD’s action.
Rosenstein Law Group does not promise a particular outcome, and no attorney can guarantee that you can avoid license suspension or that the MVD will cancel a license suspension. But getting legal help quickly can be critical, because your deadline to request a hearing is short, and if you miss it, you may lose your right to challenge that could otherwise be available.
Call our law office as soon as possible at (480) 248-7666 at any time to arrange a free legal consultation with us. Or, if you prefer, use our online contact form.
